The View

This is a painting depicting the view from my in-law's back yard.

6"x 12" Acrylic on Terra Skin/ $60

Moon Goddess

This is my second pyrography piece. "Pyrography or pyrogravure is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker." Wikipedia.

In this case I used a pyrography machine which was actually built in Canada.

I designed this all by myself (I even used myself as the model, LOL). I was very inspired by an artist named Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. I adore her work.

I needed to mention that the design is mine because some who do pyrography use other artist's designs.

Moon Godess
Pyrography on basswood
3"x12"
$80

Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Shipping is additional.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Squaredy Cat

This is a painting of one of my favourite stuffed toys. She is a Squaredy Cat.  The actual stuffed toy has tiger stripes, but I decided to leave them out because they were not enhancing the painting in any way.

This was created with a Bamboo graphics tablet, Photoshop Elements 10 and GIMP 2.8. $65

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Perseverance

These are the roots of a very cool Cyprus tree located in the Elora Gorge Conservation area. I loved how the tree was huge and proudly growing on top of rocks. I find it incredible how a Cyprus tree can grow on some of the most harsh surfaces.

Acrylic on Terra Skin, mounted on a birch panel, 12"x 24"/$200

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

33 Water Street North Clock Tower

I just LOVE this building!

This is a post office located in Galt, Cambridge Ontario. The clock tower on the top of the building was so fancy. This building looks like it could be in Italy. But the sky in Italy is often a pale blue. Ontario skies have a more saturated blue. I think that the saturated blue hints at the location. As does the title of the piece, lol.

Acrylic on Terra Skin, 18"x 24"/$240

Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. :)

Sunset

The sunsets in Collingwood Ontario (Canada) are so incredible. Sometimes I wish that I lived up there just so I could enjoy them almost every night.

Acrylic on Canvas, 16"x 20"/$185

High Up

This is a painting of the historical St.James Church in Hespeler, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. I called this piece "High Up", because the church is located on the top of a hill. It feels great to stand up there beside the church and to experience the fantastic view.

This church attracted me not because I am religious, but because it felt so grand (with its regal spot atop the hill) and yet humble (with it's peeling paint and relatively small size).

High Up
Acrylic on canvas
12"x24"
$170

Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. :)

Mill Street West

This piece was a commission of a building in Elora (Ontario, Canada). I had never been to Elora before until I needed to do this commission. Wow is it a beautiful area.

It was a lot of work and a lot of experimentation but I am really happy with the results.

This was created with a Bamboo graphics tablet, Photoshop Elements 10 and GIMP 2.8.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Sunny Dundas Valley

This piece was painted at the start of the summer during Jody Joseph's  painting class. It was created entirely with a pallet knife.

11"x14" Acrylic on canvas/$100

Please email if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Cheers!

Ocean Spirit

This is a birthday gift for a very dear friend who is also my biggest fan. I do hope that he likes it.  It is sadly a bit late but good art takes time. :P

This was created with a Bamboo graphics tablet, Photoshop Elements 10 and GIMP 2.8.
The background is a paper texture from Hillary Luetkemeyer. Click this link if you want to download and try out her paper textures: http://hibbary.deviantart.com/art/Torn-edge-paper-packet-part-2-189165405

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Two Lilies

These lovely flowers are from my mother-in-law's garden. She has a green thumb (unlike me).

I used a technique called impasto to paint this. It was a lot of fun.

12"x 12" Acrylic on Terra Skin/$97

Please email if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Cheers!

After the storm

These beautiful clouds showed up after a thunderstorm earlier this summer. I find that some of the most beautiful clouds happen after a thunderstorm.

8"x 10" Acrylic on Terra Skin/$65

Blue Forest

The event, A Day and A Night in Hespeler Village, was a big success! Many people came out to enjoy the beauty, artists and buskers of Hespeler Village. I sold two pieces (this being one of them) and even got a commission! I want to thank everyone who came out and said hi!

This piece was greatly inspired by one of my teachers, Peter John Reid. I was trying to use colours other then green. It turned out pretty well.

6"x 12" Acrylic on Terra Skin/SOLD

Today is the big day!

Today is the big day! Myself and many other artists will be outside painting beautiful Hespeler Village! Please come out and enjoy this fun day! 

This is a free all day and evening event where some of the region’s artists and musicians showcase their talent to the general public. Food bank donations are appreciated.

Featuring :

Buskers teamed up with Plein Air (open air) painters in the village along an historical walking tour 11-3

Legal Graffiti Wall 11-3

Creative Children’s Activities 11-3

Storyteller & Artist Michelle Braniff  12:45 at the Hespeler Library

Learn about graffiti and how to tag your name 11:00-3:00 at the Cenotaph with Artist in Residence Ean Kools

Photography contest

Local Eateries and Businesses will feature artists work for sale

One Day galleries will be set up in historical buildings to showcase artists work

Evening Street Closure 3-10pm

Extended shopping hours, live music, street dance, art crawl and live performance painting, dinner in local eateries

Maps will be available to locate artists, musicians and art venues.

I hope to see many of you there!

Cuddly Apples

This piece was an experiment because it was the first time that I used the Split Primary Pallet that Peter John Reid recommends (Ultramarine Blue, Phhtalo Blue, Primary Magenta, Napthol Red Light, Hansa Yellow Light and Hansa Yellow Deep).  A Split Primary Pallet consists of a warm and a cool version of each of the three primaries (red, blue and yellow).

So far, I have enjoyed working with this colour pallet. I also realized how much I missed working on Terra Skin. It shows each brush stroke and really makes the transparent areas of the paint pop. 

8"x 8" Acrylic on Terra Skin/$50

Steller Jay

This piece was a collaboration between myself and a friend/talented bird photographer, Kathy Waybrant. 


During her trip to British Columbia, she took some amazing photos of the Steller Jay.  Using her photos, I was able to create this painting. I just wish that I could have gotten a better photo of the finished painting. This photo does not show all the subtle difference in the blues. I guess that is why I am a painter and not a photographer. :P


I am kinda amazed at how quickly I was able to paint this.  I am also so proud of myself for not painting every feather, LOL.


Thanks again Kathy! 

14"x 18" Acrylic on Canvas/SOLD

Thank you for reading this and cheers! 

The Fireplace at 4 Eagle Lane

I painted this piece last Saturday (June 16th) during the sixth annual Lakeside Living Home Tour. I even sold it before I was finished painting it, which was super exciting! 


During the tour, I got to paint at a lovely home which was right on the shore of Puslinch Lake (Ontario). This fieldstone fireplace is all that is left of the original home that was on this lot. The family built a new home further up from the lake but decided to leave the fireplace. It was so unique that I just had to paint it!

16"x20" Acrylic on Canvas/SOLD

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Painting during the Lakeside Living Home Tour

I am super excited about this Saturday because I will be doing some plein air painting at the sixth annual Lakeside Living Home Tour! The tour, which features six distinctive homes on the shores of Puslinch Lake, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can be enjoyed on land or by boat. The tour will also have local painter Jennifer Depencier (her artwork is totally worth checking out) doing some plein air painting too!


Here are some photos that I took while checking out the possible painting spots:

Isn't it lovely?

Tickets for the tour are $20, $25 for the dock-to-dock tour. The tour takes approximately two-and-a-half hours to complete.

Tickets are available in Cambridge at Willow House on Main Street, Book Express, Cinderella Beauty Salon on King Street and at the Old Marina Restaurant.

All proceeds benefit the Lake's restoration.

Thanks for reading and cheers!

Columbia Lake Flower

I painted this last year at Columbia Lake in Waterloo Ontario. It was a fun painting day.

8"x10" Acrylic on Canvas/$40

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or any other piece that is for sale, please email me.

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Warm Still Life

This is an oldie, but I still like it. :) I actually painted this before I studied painting in Umbria Italy.

I especially like the mummified lemon. LOL.

5"x7" Acrylic on Canvas Board /$30

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or any other piece that is for sale, please email me.

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Distracted

This was painted when I should have been painting the Seagram lofts last summer.

While I was driving my husband to work, I noticed how lovely the clouds were. So I painted them in the field near his work instead of going to the Seagram Lofts.

It was a lot of fun. I used a salmon coloured base for this one which is kinda different for me.

Acrylic on Canvas /$100 (includes HST)

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or any other piece that is for sale, please email me.

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Morning Light on a Gate

This was painted during my trip to Umbria, Italy, in May of 2011. I just love the architecture of Monte Castello di Vibo. The way the morning light was hitting the gate and tree really caught my attention. Such a magnificent place. :)

Acrylic on Canvas /$85 (includes HST)

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or any other piece that is for sale, please email me.

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Sapphire Reclined

This was painted at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts life drawing drop in. I was so pleased with how the thinned out paint created beautiful transparent layers!

11" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas / $150

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Red Velvet Lake

This is a en plein air painting that I painted at the Huron Natural area in Kitchener, Ontario. The day was kinda gloomy and blue, so I decided to add some red to punch it up a bit. :) I was also inspired by a piece that my amazing acrylics teacher Laurie Wonfor Nolan painted.

5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas Board/$40.00

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Sumi-e Painting

My 1st good sumi-e fish

Today I attended a Sumi-e painting workshop. It was so much fun!

A good sumi-e bamboo by me!

The goal of sumi-e (ink and wash painting) is not simply to reproduce the appearance of the subject, but to capture its soul. Also, East Asian ink wash painting may be regarded as an earliest form of expressionistic art that captures the unseen (From Wikipedia).

Rosyln Levin taught today's workshop. She is a great teacher and a very talented artist. Her class has already helped me greatly with my other art loves (my acrylic and digital artwork). Go check out her website: http://www.artbyroslyn.on.ca/

She will be teaching at Wyndham Art Supplies in Guelph starting this Thursday (May 10th 2011). I highly recommend it.  If you would like info about the course: http://www.wyndhamartsupplies.com/isapi/isapi.dll?product_detail&product_id=7121&search_type=browse&cat_id=2248

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Guess Who 3

If you know me, then you have likely met this lovely gentleman too!

This portrait was painted while the subject was exercising on his exercise bike. It was a challenge to say the least.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Ceiling Light

This ceiling lamp is the first thing that I see every morning when I wake up.

I painted it just as the sun was rising with the iPad. It was so much fun to be able to paint in bed. Who knew it could be possible to paint in my own bed while lying down without making a big mess!

8"x10" prints are available.  Limited editions of ten, numbered and signed. $30 (includes shipping within Canada and HST). 

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Foggy Morning

I was walking the dogs around five am (it was dark outside and very foggy).

The street lamps looked so eerie and beautiful. So I finished walking the dogs, grabbed the iPad and ran outside so I could capture the moment. Just as I was finishing, the sun was rising and turned the sky a to a purplish colour.

8"x10" prints are available.  Limited editions of ten, numbered and signed. $30 (includes shipping within Canada).

Cans, boxes, a jar and two plants

This painting was homework for my Modern Master's class at the Dundas Valley School of Fine Art. I painted this with a pallet knife on Terra Skin.

12.5" x 17.5" Acrylic on Terra Skin/$100

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Rosette

I painted this after pulling an all nighter on a different painting and I was incredibly surprised at how well it turned out. I guess that I painted this just with my instincts because I certainly was not thinking clearly at that point.

This painting was donated to an annual event called Arti Gras which raises money for Cambridge Galleries public programming. Someone actually purchased this piece at the event. I was so thrilled. The Cambridge Galleries really need the money.

6"x6" Acrylic on canvas/SOLD

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Transition

I was walking by a willow tree close to my home on a particularly warm day. I later photographed that tree and then drew this tree spirit from that photograph. I have always felt that trees (especially older tress) have a personality and almost a spirit of their own.

This was created with an iPad2, a program called Brushes (iPad edition) and a nomad brush.

8"x10" prints are available.  Limited editions of ten, numbered and signed. $30 (includes free shipping worldwide).  

Thank you for reading this and cheers!

Waiting

I recently purchased a book called Fashion Illustration Inspiration and Technique by Anna Kipper. It inspired the creation of this piece. I do not posses Anna's style or flair for fashion illustration, but with more practise, I am sure that I will get better.

This was created with a Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet and a program called GIMP 2.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Love, Love, Love

I painted this piece as a gift to my husband for Valentine's Day. I then had this image printed on a coffee mug at Walmart. My husband absolutely loved it. :D

My favourite mythological creature is the unicorn and Andrew's is the pseudodragon. So I painted this based on our favourite mythological creatures.

I forgot how much I enjoyed doing fantasy art. I intend to do more in the future.

This was created with a Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet and a program called GIMP 2.

Thanks for reading and cheers!

Night Lights

Last Friday I was waiting in my car for my husband to finish work so that I could give him a ride home. It was a rainy night which created some interesting reflections and colours on the parking lot pavement. I could not help but pull out the iPad and start painting what I saw.

I am really pleased with how this turned out. It is my first night painting using the iPad. I certainly plan to do more.

This was created with an iPad2, a program called Brushes (iPad edition) and a Nomad Brush. 

8"x10" prints are available.  Limited editions of ten, numbered and signed. $30 (includes free shipping worldwide). 

Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

My Little Star

This is a quick painting of my dog Star. She was sleeping beside me so I decided to try and paint her quickly. This piece is about ten minutes worth of work. But then Star decided to roll over and that was that, I had to call the painting done. But I still kinda like it. :)

This was created with an iPad2, a program called Brushes (iPad edition) and a Nomad Brush. 

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Undiscerning

Today my husband and I were walking down our outside cement stairway. He stopped to observe the stairs and then asked me if I had ever truly looked at them before. In all honesty, I had not. I did not realise that they were hollow. Or how they had a beauty of their own if you looked closely enough. I had never noted how the stairs were not sitting squarely against the cement base or how the sunlight was shinning though the gaps of the other side.

The first image is where the stairway buts up against the wall. The sun is shinning through the cracks were the stairway and wall don't meet. The second image is the same, except with the focus on the outside of the stairway gap. You can still see the light peeking through. 

I am no photographer, but I felt this was an important lesson in observation that I wanted to share. I was taking my own stairway for granted because I had never truly looked at it before. I am also proud of my ability to get the camera to do such a close up shot.

These photos were taken with an Olympus 6.0 mega pixel camera, FE-120. 

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Seagram Lofts

This is the biggest en plein air painting that I have ever done (30"x40") and it is SOLD! :D

This building is one of the original Seagram Distillery buildings (in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) which was converted to residential condominiums. I used to walk by this building every day to visit my boyfriend (that boyfriend is now my husband). I have always admired the beauty and charm of this building. There is something so striking about those cute blue shutters against the yellow brick. :)

This was painted with Golden Acrylics on canvas. 

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Guess Who 2

I had so much fun painting this!

My model sat on the sofa while I painted her and we just talked. She was a good sport about it and the fact that she was not staying perfectly still added a whole new and fun element to trying to paint her.

If you can guess who the lovely lady in this painting is, you will win an Internet cookie! :P

Let me give you a hint, this is not a self portrait, although people often think she looks a lot like me.

This was create using an iPad2, a program called Brushes (iPad edition) and a Nomad Brush.

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Bowl of Citrons

This is homework for my painting class taught by Jody Joseph. I had to choose a famous still life and then flatten it to make it look almost like a stain glass window. I chose the piece Still Life with Bowl of Citrons by Giovanna Garzoni.

I had a lot of fun with this piece.  It required me to really stretch my brain, use my instincts and design sense (more then usual). I was trying to channel Picasso while I was creating this. I wonder what Jody will say about it. I hope I understood the homework correctly but even if I did not, I feel that this piece has helped me grow as an artist.

This was created with a Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet and a program called GIMP 2.



Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Thank you.

Guess Who

For my painting class (taught by Jody Joseph) I painted this self portrait directly from observation using a mirror. I am pleased with how it turned out. I have never been so successful with a self portrait until this one.


This was created with a Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet and a program called GIMP 2.

As usual, any comments, or suggestions are greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks for taking a look!

Orchid Painting 1

This is my first painting of the orchid that my friend game me. :) It was done with acrylic and it is (in my opinion) loose and fun. I guess that I have yet to discover how to be super loose with digital painting.  This was painted during my class with the incredible Laurie Wonfor Nolan.

8"x 10" Acrylic on TerraSkin/ $70 (includes free shipping world wide)

Rainbow Tree

In my painting class we were studying Fauvism. For homework, I decided to paint a tree at the back of my complex.  I then added strong colours to the painting while maintaining the correct values. The sun was just setting, it was about 3 degrees Celsius and man did I ever have fun with this. My painting teacher Jody Joseph mentioned that this piece was almost a self portrait. I kinda agree with her. It is cool how that can happen sometimes.

17.25"x 12.5" Acrylic on TerraSkin/ $100 (includes free shipping world wide)

Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece. Thank you.

Rudiments

This simple egg was an exercise to help me understand that the simpler the object being painted, the more difficult it can be to create a good composition. I had a difficult time with this one, but I like the subtle pinks, yellows, and blues, so I decided to post it anyway.

8"x 10" Acrylic on TerraSkin/ $70 (includes free shipping world wide)

Columbia Lake Optically Mixed

This piece was a lot of fun. My painting buddy Anne and I, were at Columbia Lake (in Waterloo, Ontario) doing some plein air painting and wow was it cold! It was 1 degree Celsius, foggy and a bit gloomy but we still had a great time and were able to come home with decent paintings. We even met some fellow artists who were photographers!

It was very different to paint in such cold temperatures. The acrylic paint acts more like oil paint because it does not dry.

17.25"x 12.5" Acrylic on TerraSkin/ $100 (includes free shipping world wide)

Thanks for reading this and cheers!

Back Lit Orchid

Although today is Friday the 13th, it has been a very lucky day for me. My computer died yesterday which meant that since this painting was created with my computer, the painting would have been lost (because I had not backed up the file). But I was able to repair my computer and finish my digital painting! I felt so happy! I also learned to back up all my computer artwork from now on (I seriously did not think to do it until my computer died).

I was really taken by how different the orchid flowers looked when they were lit from the back instead of the front. You could not even see the delicate little yellow bits of the flower because they appeared almost purple instead.

This was created with a Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet and a program called GIMP 2.


As usual, any comments, or suggestions are greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks for taking a look!

8"x10" print on canvas paper available.  Limited editions of ten, numbered and signed. $30 (includes free shipping worldwide).